Tag

thoughts

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Middle Grade Horror: What Makes It…It

About a week ago, I finished the first draft of my middle grade horror manuscript Nightmare Garden. I know. I like the title too. The beginning of my middle grade horror manuscript Nightmare Garden So what makes my words middle grade horror? Do I even know what I'm doing? Yes. Mostly. And these are all my opinions, for I'm no expert. I love reading middle grade, so why not write it? I wrote Nightmare Garden because my first adventure into the land of MG was so much fun. Well, fun...and painful...and frustrating...and fun. Middle grade, my happy[...]

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Black Christmas: I Like a Little Murder with My Popcorn

I love going to the movies and love horror movies, so this week, I took myself to see Black Christmas. The trailers hinted at screaming and running and hiding and killing with sorority girls (AHEM WOMEN) and a creepy masked invader, all wrapped up with Christmas lights. Sounded fun! I went, with no other expectation than to enjoy myself. I did enjoy myself! And left with a head full of thoughts, unusual for a slasher movie, right? The 2019 film, directed by Sophia Takal, and written by Takal and April Wolfe, is the second remake of the 1974 movie Black Christ[...]

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Doctor Sleep: A Girl, Some Popcorn, and the Shining

Big Stephen King fan here, all us Midnighters are. When Doctor Sleep hit shelves in 2013, I was excited. A sequel to The Shining? One of my very favorite books? The answer to what happened to Danny Torrance? Yes please. I loved the book, but I'm not here to talk about that. Yesterday, I bought a ticket and a lot of popcorn, and took myself to see the movie based on Doctor Sleep. I'm not here to compare the movie to the book, because I read it a long time ago and comparing the two causes frustration. The movie should have its own space, be its own entity. Alt[...]

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Midnight Society Movie Night: Brightburn

Welcome to November! For all those who will be Nano-ing, you might need a break by the end of the month. For everyone else, you also need a night of horror fun. So join me in my live-tweet of Brightburn for...     This movie directed by David Yarovesky and written by Brian and Mark Gunn hit theaters earlier this year and gives us a different take on the superhero genre...an anti-superhero, if you will. I watched many Brightburn trailers as I haunted the theater last winter and spring. At first, I was intrigued, but wasn't sure I needed to see it.[...]

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Brace Yourself for the NoSleep Podcast

I've heard talk of podcasts for...awhile. But, I didn't run to join the crowd of listeners, because I wasn't sure of this podcast thing, didn't know how it would fit into my life. Last August, when faced with a nine hour car ride alone, I had an overwhelming desire to have someone read me horror stories. My friend suggested I find a podcast to listen to. Wait. Like where they tell me scary stories? Yup. So, I found The NoSleep Podcast and discovered a wonderful land of stories of the weird and creepy and dark.   After my nine hour drive, immersed in a var[...]

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Midnight Society Movie Night: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

It's October and time to announce the choice for Midnight Society Movie Night! Once again, I flipped to Netflix and found a film I haven't seen. Let's watch We Have Always Lived in the Castle.       We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a 2018 mystery thriller directed by Stacie Passon and written by Mark Kruger and based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. But you live-tweet horror movies...this does not say horror... Yeah, well. Horror is lots of things, and people keep talking about this movie, which makes me want to watch it. Since, I've[...]

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Horror Book Alert: Bloody Red Nose

On Friday the 13th, a new horror anthology entered the world, bringing light and love...and CLOWNS...okay, maybe not all light and love. But this collection of 15 stories isn't about the scary clown holding a blood-colored balloon, you know the one right outside your house...RIGHT NOW THE ONE THAT IS COMING TO KILL YOU? Just kidding! Maybe... Anyway, this book focuses on taking the creepy killer out of the clown and give us what clowns fear instead.     In a world filled with menace, dare to paint on a grin. The world is full of images of scary[...]

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Let’s Talk About Scary

We've all heard it, read it on social media...possibly said it... Don't go see that horror movie. It isn't scary. It bothers me that a vague comment can send us spiraling into doubt. We get sad and disappointed before we even see it, and who needs that? I posted on FB that I was super excited to go see the new movie Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Someone commented, informing me that her teenage girls saw it and said it wasn't scary, so she wasn't going to waste her time. CUE THE BIGGEST SIGH. I have been looking forward to this movie. I STILL WANT to see[...]

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Pet Sematary: One Book, Two Films, a Few Thoughts

Pet Sematary. What a journey this story has been on, an evolution in a sense.   Back in 1983 Stephen King's book entered the world.   King says it's the scariest book he's written, because 'what if' is the scariest thing, especially when you're a parent and the 'what if' is the death of your child. When a truck strikes down small, baby-faced Gage, Louis can fix it, he can bring back his son because he knows a secret, a terrible secret. A tale of grief, of desperation, of being haunted by the past, of your mistakes, the book gives us a deep look i[...]

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Three Weeks…Three Horror Movies

I love horror movies and have my preferred types...everyone does, give me a ghost or demon and I'm a happy kid. Heck, give me a ghost and a demon and I will die of joy. However, I have discovered that my horror movie love spreads across a range of evil. I find enjoyment in quiet creepy and screaming death. I'll happily watch a ghost scare the life out of people or a whole bunch of stabbing. It is rare for me to not like a horror movie, for I can find something, just a sliver of an idea or a super intriguing image, to hold in my dark heart. One of my favorite thin[...]